Yeah you're right and I'm always wary of using one but as long as the roles around it benefit the system it compensates for the cons of the role. I'm not one who looks at the 'recommended' roles of players as long as they have the attributes I require for that role. And again it's all about the system as a whole everything has to compliment everything else.

Completely agree with this. I like playing lower league so mental stats are far more important to me as most players are on a similar level. For a centre half pairing I just have both as CB Defend. Nothing too fancy but they must have good Positioning, Decisions and Anticipation. Pace is a bonus. I think my 2 first choice have around 11 or 12 for pace which doesn't seem too special but the mental stats compensate plus they're very rarely up against ridiculously quick strikers. It's prefect for my system you may want something different. If I managed Liverpool 1 of them probably Van Dijk would be a Ball Playing Defender maybe even both depending on the system.

I'm playing as Blyth Spartans and I'm mostly using this system and having some success with it. It's nothing too technical and it suits the players I have. It can change to a 4-4-2 depending on the opposition.

I used something quite similar with the Libero and wide players. I had the 2 CM players as CM Support and it worked quite well leaving the space for the Libero to move forward but it's the wall he hits at a certain point made me change it. I found he was the pass before the assist but I wanted more. I wanted him assisting and scoring. Maybe it was the player or the instructions but I found he didn't do enough of what I wanted. I hope it's been fixed for FM19 because I enjoyed the role.

It's not making a joke of the game. I think you're being unfair there. @okereke has developed a style of play which is winning football matches. Winning matches is about exploiting weaknesses in an opponents tactical system and taking advantage of those weaknesses. His system is doing that and he deserves credit for implementing his style of play and winning games. There is no right or wrong way to play the game only differing opinions as to 'how' it is played. Every manager has a way they want there teams to play.
If you haven't seen any teams play in this way, using Inverted Fullbacks tucking in allowing Central Midfielders to move into wide areas and Wingers/Inside Forwards coming inside I'm not sure what you've been watching. Pep Guardiola's Man City side do this to great affect. Sane especially starts very wide but is often on the end of crosses and through balls from De Bruyne who is a central player but has moved wide to occupy half spaces. His fullback will then tuck in to provide cover in the area he has vacated. It's quite simple and like @westy8chimp and others have explained it creates passing triangles which in turn create space and essentially goalscoring chances. Coutinho at Livepool would at times start centrally and drift wide to allow Mane to come inside. Iniesta at Barceona would also drift into wide areas from a central starting position and create these passing triangles with fullbacks and wide forwards or wingers. This is not a new thing and is probably quite difficult to get right on FM. I'm using Inverted Wingbacks at the moment actually and I really like how it gives me cover in central areas but still gives me width. My leftback actually has 4 goals in 9 games at the start of the season for Benevento playing as an Inverted Wingback.
@okereke I like how your system looks and you're having good results with it. Reading the thread I know you've put a lot of work and thought into it and now reaping the rewards. I'm really interested to see how it continues.

This is a really good, interesting read. I've never used an Enganche before. But, I am trying new things, like quinoa and Android phones so I might just give it a try. I already play with a diamond so similar up top so I could jig it about a bit and see how it goes. I'm interested to see how the role performs because as I said I've never used it before.

Personally I would have Firmino as a Complete Forward or Deep Lying Forward on attack, this should get him more involved as he'll start deeper rather than starting high and coming deep as he will as a False 9. Mane as a Winger with a support duty and change your Leftback to attack should combine nicely on that side to provide for Salah on the opposite flank. I would focus on Salah being your main source of goals if you're playing him as an Inside Forward. I would also try lowering your mentality to Standard and shape to Flexible. This will still give you an attacking threat but you'll start slightly deeper and I find that tends to keep my players closer together during the build up. I'm a huge advocate of a standard mentality and almost always use it.
There is a great thread on Liverpool and how to get the most out of Salah as a goalscoring threat, if that's what you want. Lots of great contributions in there to help if you need it.

Pay no attention to the 'green bars'. Every player can play any position but will just play it differently based on their particular attributes. So as long as he has the attributes you need to play the role you've selected it won't matter.

He's just not getting involved in the play as much, or wasn't. I've changed things slightly and now he's on the ball a lot more and tying to create things going forward. I'll see how this goes and update a bit more.